Hubble's Future in the Webb Era

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Even though it’s far past its warranty, the Hubble Space Telescope is still proving its worth in this new era.

Perhaps you’ve heard: The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is the latest and greatest observatory in space, wowing the astronomical community with amazing images released last week.


But amid all the excitement, the Hubble Space Telescope — NASA’s orbital transformational observatory now for more than 32 years — continues its exploration and discovery.


"We believe that we can keep Hubble doing the ground-breaking science it is known for through the latter part of this decade and possibly into the next," says public affairs officer Claire Andreoli (NASA Goddard).

HUBBLE: FROM TROUBLE TO TRIUMPH

Deployed on April 25, 1990, from the cargo bay of the U.S. space shuttle Discovery, Hubble got off to a rocky start: A defective mirror wasn’t discovered until after deployment and calibration.

Three years later, astronauts repaired the defect with "corrective lenses," named the Corrective Optics Space Telescope Axial Replacement (COSTAR) package, which they placed in the telescope during the STS-61/Servicing Mission One.




Even though it's far past its warranty, Hubble is still proving its worth in this new era that includes the James Webb Space Telescope.

The post-Hubble Future in the Webb Era appeared first on Sky & Telescope.

source https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-blogs/hubbles-future-in-the-webb-era/